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TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to municipalities regulating the use of traps

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL: The subject bill would allow counties to enact a local law to restrict, limit or prohibit trapping within such municipality.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new section, 11-1111, to allow counties to enact local laws more rigid than state laws regarding trapping. However, such local law shall not prohibit the Department of Environmental Conservation from exercising its emergency powers in relation to the control of fish or wildlife to prevent the spread of disease.

JUSTIFICATION: Currently, three counties across the state have enacted local laws to impose more limits on the use of traps throughout their counties. The state has challenged these local laws and has been upheld in court because the authority to regulate trapping is only granted to the state. The precedent to allow counties to limit the use of traps has already been set but legislation is necessary to clarify existing law so that counties may go forward with legislation to limit trapping without fear of state intervention.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2698
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2011
___________

Introduced by Sens. SERRANO, PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental
Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to muni-
cipalities regulating the use of traps
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
new section 11-1111 to read as follows:
S 11-1111. MUNICIPAL REGULATION OF TRAPPING.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTICLE OR OF ANY OTHER
LAW, RULE OR REGULATION, EACH COUNTY IN THE STATE MAY, BY LOCAL LAW OR
ORDINANCE, RESTRICT, LIMIT OR PROHIBIT TRAPPING WITHIN ITS MUNICIPAL
LIMITS. NO PROVISION OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO PROHIBIT THE
DEPARTMENT FROM EXERCISING ITS EMERGENCY POWERS PURSUANT TO SECTION
11-0325 OF THIS ARTICLE IN RELATION TO THE CONTROL OF FISH OR WILDLIFE
IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OR SPREAD OF DISEASE.
S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00236-01-1

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